Warning: This post contains spoilers for the first six seasons of Game of Thrones.
It’s hard out here for a wannabe dragon-slayer. That’s certainly the experience of actor Jerome Flynn, perhaps better known for his role as the salty-tongued sellsword Bronn in Game of Thrones. Always a fan favorite, Bronn returned to the spotlight in the fourth episode of this season to play a critical role in one of the biggest battles ever seen on Thrones. But, unfortunately, this time he was pitted against another fan favorite character: Drogon.
During the Loot Train Battle, Bronn makes a dash for Qyburn’s special Scorpion weapon, equipped with crossbow bolts intended to fatally wound a rampaging dragon. With Daenerys’s Drogon on the loose, Bronn makes good use of the Scorpion, firing off two shots — one of which hits home. In an action-packed episode, Drogon’s moment of pain was one of the most-discussed scenes online.
And in the aftermath, Jerome Flynn tapped his trademark sense of humor to say that some fans have changed their opinions of him. When asked in an interview with HBO about seeing the episode, he had a hilarious answer about the fallout.
“I spent weeks on that sequence, but I was on the edge of my seat, the adrenaline was running — they really nailed it,” Flynn said of watching the battle go down. “Although since the day the battle aired, I’ve been a little unpopular, I have to say. My postman won’t speak to me because I shot the dragon,” he said.
Luckily, it looks like Drogon is going to come back from his flesh wound.
Jerome Flynn, however, may find it harder to return to the good graces of dragon-loving fans everywhere.
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Write to Raisa Bruner at raisa.bruner@time.com